Advice If You're 18+

When I turned 18, that put me ahead financially in my 20s. If you're 18 or about to be, do this to get ahead. And if you're 20s and older, do this now to make sure you don't fall behind. Number one, I got a credit card. 50% of your FICO score comes from payment history and credit length. So the earlier you start, the faster you can build trust with the credit bureaus and start to build your credit score. High credit score means better loan rates for things like a car or a house. Plus you can get easier access to top credit cards, like these that can get you exclusive perks like free flights and free hotel stays. Who doesn't like free? Just, you know, don't be dumb. Number two, I got a job. You're not going to learn how to be good with money if you don't have any yourself. You need some skin in the game to realize how hard managing your money and impulses really is. Plus you need some sort of income to take advantage of number three, which is starting investing. The sooner you invest, the quicker your money starts to compound and work for you. Let's say you invest $300 a month and get an average 8% return every single year. If you start at 25, which is great, by the time you retire, you'll have around $972,000. But if you start at 18, contributing the same amount with the same return, by the time you retire, you'll have $1.5 million. And that's a big difference. I first started investing when I was broke and didn't really know what I was doing, but I stayed consistent, invested with whatever I had, and this is my portfolio now. I get it's confusing and scary. I mean, nobody taught me growing up. I had to learn everything myself, so trust me, I get it. So if you have any questions, drop a comment down below. I'll reply to as many as I can to help out. And of course, follow for more things that school should have taught you. We're all in this together.